Plz help with 2.5rs tuning questions

Mariuslt · 02-21-2004, 01:47 PM

Hello, first time poster, long time reader. Anyways, recently....Tuesday the 17th I got the '04 2.5RS and I was wondering (since I’m new and really confused) on which intake, exhaust, and suspension (sways and springs) I should get for my new and beautiful RS. I was looking into going through the Cobbs tuning road and getting all my stuff through there. But my dealer also offers some SPT stuff like the Muffler which I'm thinking of getting. Please help me out and save me from making stupid purchasing mistakes.
P.S. For the muffler, I don't care if its loud (I would like it to be as quite as possible, but then again, I don't care as long as it is good performance) all I want from all these items is performance and reliability. And i have no problem in saving up for these parts. (Links would be very helpful and especially shops around the north suburb of Chicago that would install all of these(unless they are all fairly easy to install(which a link would also be very helpfull

))) Again I thank the wonderful board of NASIOC for helping me out in advance.

* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

christianvwcars · 02-21-2004, 02:30 PM

Just my 2 cents.

Why is it everytime someone buys a new car they have to start a post about everything that has been talked about on here. The typical what should I do to my car? Its your car!!!!!! Do what ever you want. I wish people would stop flooding the boards with a new post everytime they want to do a mod. Just read every other "WHAT SHOULD I DO" post on here and figure it out for yourself. I hope that with all of the information on this web forum some people would read it and take it in consideration when they go to tune their own car. I know your a first time poster, and I am sorry this came out when you posted, but COME ON PEOPLE!!!! GET SOME lugNUTS, and figure it out by reading all the 1000 other WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Christian

PS I know I am going to catch some crap for this!!!! SO GO AT IT!!

Mariuslt · 02-21-2004, 05:04 PM

i actually did do some reading up from the other people, but never found a good thread comparing SPT and Cobb and i would just like to get some good mods so that i don't regret it later

dave3130 · 02-21-2004, 05:17 PM

heres a free bump from a fellow rs owner...

paul25RS · 02-21-2004, 05:28 PM

intake: cobb intake
exhaust: scooby sport
headers: cobb equal length headers
rear sway bar: cusco 22-24 adjustable
Endlinks: whiteline/gtspec/perrin
Suspension: tein

surfer.tech · 02-21-2004, 07:36 PM

intake :cobb
exhasut: your choice
header:cobb for power(most gains), borla for sound, mrt for more high end power
rear sway bar:cusco or whiteline
strut bar:greddy, sti, cobb (doesnt matter.. even generic ones will do fine)
suspension: i dont know

ten80 · 02-21-2004, 09:50 PM

yeah, what they said and...

there are lots of small things that you can do to upgrade your car that make HUGE differences:

NGK copper spark plugs $10 (most agree that they have the best spark, definite improvement over stock)

wrx 20mm rear sway bar (03 RS has 13mm standard, don't know about 04 but I guess it's almost the same) about $50 used

grounding kit: about $30 home-made with 8ga wire and gold or copper terminals

Synthetic motor oil (Mobil 1, Redline, or Purple Royal) $23-40 for 5qt

Bushings: shifter, sway bar, steering rack all about $30 eash

don't forget small stuff and just go for the bling bling parts!

Mariuslt · 02-22-2004, 01:50 AM

thanks a lot, you guys are the best. Now last question, where would be a good install shop in IL Northern Suburbs of Chicago be? :-D Thank you and have a wonderful day

quest · 02-22-2004, 04:12 AM

intake :cobb or ganzflow
exhasut: Brullen or Scoobysport
header:Brullen for power, Brullen for sound
rear sway bar: used stock WRX (fo' cheap)
suspension: prodrive?
tires: anythings better'n stock
Rims: Rota
other: K and N air filter, perrin pulley, kartboy short shifter
dressup: oem side skirts, oem front lip, shift trim (from ebay), new shift knob, WRX or STi pedals, pink grill badge

Supraru · 02-22-2004, 04:31 PM

intake :I have a weapon R, but a cold air intake most likely cobb.
exhasut: Blitz Nur spec for a good sound but it's real loud. Apexi N1 is nice and quiet and looks stylish if you like more then a stock look.
header: I have Borla but equal length will net you the best gain but won't sound as good
rear sway bar: I have a 22mm FHI rear sway bar and has been verry nice. It's a great mod but just pick one they all do the same thing
suspension: Cusco Zero 2's, buddy has it on his Rs and it's crazy. You won't have issues like Tein like the build quality and rusting. $1700 and you have a verry well built coilover system and it'll last a verry long time and operate just like new.
tires: SO3's!!!!!! They are the best dry and wet grip tires ever. There are tires that grip a little better in the dry but not near as good in the rain. I will be buying SO3's for the rest of my life. You will have to get snow tires though and you will notice when it's cold out you can't push it as hard. So just get snow tires I recomend Blizzak WS-50's or Lm-22's
Rims: anything made by Rays engenering

You don't really need a shop. For something as little as an intake or the exhaust it's pretty easy to do.

GuyLR · 02-22-2004, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by christianvwcars
Just my 2 cents.

Why is it everytime someone buys a new car they have to start a post about everything that has been talked about on here. The typical what should I do to my car? Its your car!!!!!! Do what ever you want. I wish people would stop flooding the boards with a new post everytime they want to do a mod. Just read every other "WHAT SHOULD I DO" post on here and figure it out for yourself. I hope that with all of the information on this web forum some people would read it and take it in consideration when they go to tune their own car. I know your a first time poster, and I am sorry this came out when you posted, but COME ON PEOPLE!!!! GET SOME lugNUTS, and figure it out by reading all the 1000 other WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Christian

PS I know I am going to catch some crap for this!!!! SO GO AT IT!!

Well since you asked for it. How come whenever some new owner asks what he should do to mod his new pride and joy some guy thinks it's his duty to say "do a search noob this had been covered a 1000 times". Cut him some slack Christian, all he wants is a little personal advice to make him feel like he's going in the right direction and not wasting his money on worthless mods (which he will of course). If you don't want to read or reply to his post you don't have to.

That said, my advice for Mariuslt is to do the tire and suspension stuff first. If it's not fast enough for you after that you'll come out better by trading up to a WRX in a year or so and moving the new parts over to that car. Oh and no neon please

Alpha_32 · 02-22-2004, 05:10 PM

are the gains between the borla and cobb headers significant?

surfer.tech · 02-22-2004, 07:12 PM

borlas got nothin on the equal legnth cobb headers..

Supraru · 02-22-2004, 07:15 PM

Yes the equal lengths will give you way more hp, but you may notice a little gain from the borla's. I'm sorry but I don't have the money to spend that much money on a header. The borla makes me happy enough.

Alpha_32 · 02-22-2004, 07:16 PM

hehe yeah thats what i was thinkng, i was gonna go with the the borla's because im cheap..... and a ricer -_-

Supraru · 02-22-2004, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Alpha_32
hehe yeah thats what i was thinkng, i was gonna go with the the borla's because im cheap..... and a ricer -_-

Good choice. It will sound way better then the equal lengths, I don't know if I could deal with neonish sounding exhaust. Plus it's way to expensive when I'm gonna be putting in a different motor in 2 years. It's not worth it. Can't beat the sound for the money for now. And for all the haters out there yes it does have a little gain.

getek20 · 02-22-2004, 08:14 PM

I currently have the Borla header installed on my '00 RS right now and it took 3/10 (.3) sec off my 0-60 mph time. With that said does anyone happen to know how much more time an equal length header will shave off? (Preferably the Cobb equal length header...) Any input would be appreciated.

Mariuslt · 02-22-2004, 10:59 PM

quick question: each exhaust has the same gains? cause im not trying to make my RS the loudest thing on the earth, i just care about gains (but a quite exhaust is also a nice +). Thank you very much and the noob is leaving the building.

quest · 02-23-2004, 01:04 AM

you won't get much in the way of gains for a cat-back, or for borla headers (5-7hp or so apiece maybe), so don't expect too much. With the Cobb or Brullen headers (mo' expensive), you will pull around 22hp and similar torque increases.

If you are worried about the sound, you can get clips of the brullens here:

http://www.imprezars.com/brullen.htm#brullen

and clips of some of the other fellas here:

Scoobysport:
http://www.northursalia.com/d...coobysport.zip

Stromung:
http://www.northursalia.com/d...o/stromung.zip

Borla+Blitz:
http://www.northursalia.com/d...borlablitz.zip

there are some other clips somewhere, but I can't remember where. There are sound clips for the Cobb headers in one of the recent threads in this forum.

Andrew Bacon · 02-23-2004, 05:22 AM

My $.02:
Don't use any synthetic oil till you see at least 5000 miles, and if you DO go to it then, you HAVE to stick with it. Forever!

Also at 5000 or so, change the OEM fluids in the rear diff, trans, (mt or at) and power steering. I recomend Mobil 1 GL5 gear oil for the 5 spd and rear diff, and Valvoline Dextron for the P/S. There is better, and more expensive oils/ATF. After the inital change, do it every 30K miles.

CheezeWeezle · 02-23-2004, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by surfer.tech
borlas got nothin on the equal legnth cobb headers..

it's not that much...like what...9hp?( I found the dyno info on cobb's site) and double the cost? (it is more than double for only that much hp$ 276 to $649) and sound like a honda? ummm...no thanks.....If I were nothing but into power mods then yes cobb.....but You can't beat the sound of my borla headers and cat back...well the scoobysport can but nothing else can IMO.

Mariuslt · 02-23-2004, 08:56 AM

Wowie wow, thanks guys. One last thing that is making me wonder is that someone recommended Tein for suspension and another Cusco Zero 2's . so I’m just wondering what is the Pros and Cons on those 2 suspension mods? (and to go and be done with a suspension mod, I would want to get coilovers?)
Also, if anyone can provide links where a good online store to get these parts i would highly appreciate it. (I know of : http://www.cobbtuning.com , www.subarustore.com , and www.boxer4racing .com) any of those the best or are there even better sites?
Thank you once again for fast and friendly responses

Opie · 02-23-2004, 09:25 AM

Congrats on the car!

My one word of advise...don't believe everything you read here, there is so much misinformation mixed in with the facts in this thread it's amusing.

DC/DC · 02-23-2004, 11:13 AM

First thing you can do which is quick and dirty is to remove the silencer and snorkel from the stock intake. At that point, you are left with direct pipe to the air filter. Later on down the line, purchase a K&N drop-in filter. Reason to do it this way is to make it very easy to return to stock form for warranty service.

Exhaust wise, I would look into using STi or WRX parts as they won't void your warranty.

Andrew Bacon · 02-23-2004, 04:12 PM

I think coilovers are overkill if you don't plan to seriously track or A-cross the car, and they are expensive. Some are very loud and annoying. You should be able to put on KYB AGX or STi struts with STi springs and a heavier STi rear anti-roll bar without any warrenty issues. Good tires too- these 4 things will transform the car to a handling level unatainable in stock form.

IMO, as far as power mods go, like intake, header, highflow cat, bigger cat back, ProECM, Light flywheel pulley etc...each one contributes to making the car way WAY more fun to drive, but none of them really make the car much faster under OBD2. Some, not much. Again, IMO tackle the suspension first, this is where you will get cornering speed, not with an exhaust.

02-21-2004, 01:47 PM	#1
Mariuslt Scooby Newbie Member#: 51670 Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Chicagoland Area Vehicle: 04 2.5 RS Pacifica Blue	Plz help with 2.5rs tuning questions Hello, first time poster, long time reader. Anyways, recently....Tuesday the 17th I got the '04 2.5RS and I was wondering (since I’m new and really confused) on which intake, exhaust, and suspension (sways and springs) I should get for my new and beautiful RS. I was looking into going through the Cobbs tuning road and getting all my stuff through there. But my dealer also offers some SPT stuff like the Muffler which I'm thinking of getting. Please help me out and save me from making stupid purchasing mistakes. P.S. For the muffler, I don't care if its loud (I would like it to be as quite as possible, but then again, I don't care as long as it is good performance) all I want from all these items is performance and reliability. And i have no problem in saving up for these parts. (Links would be very helpful and especially shops around the north suburb of Chicago that would install all of these(unless they are all fairly easy to install(which a link would also be very helpfull ))) Again I thank the wonderful board of NASIOC for helping me out in advance. * Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

02-21-2004, 02:30 PM	#2
christianvwcars Scooby Newbie Member#: 21644 Join Date: Jul 2002 Chapter/Region: SCIC Location: Los Angeles Vehicle: 1998 RS 2.5 Red	COME ON PEOPLE!!!!! Just my 2 cents. Why is it everytime someone buys a new car they have to start a post about everything that has been talked about on here. The typical what should I do to my car? Its your car!!!!!! Do what ever you want. I wish people would stop flooding the boards with a new post everytime they want to do a mod. Just read every other "WHAT SHOULD I DO" post on here and figure it out for yourself. I hope that with all of the information on this web forum some people would read it and take it in consideration when they go to tune their own car. I know your a first time poster, and I am sorry this came out when you posted, but COME ON PEOPLE!!!! GET SOME lugNUTS, and figure it out by reading all the 1000 other WHAT SHOULD I DO? Christian PS I know I am going to catch some crap for this!!!! SO GO AT IT!!

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02-21-2004, 05:04 PM	#3
Mariuslt Scooby Newbie Member#: 51670 Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Chicagoland Area Vehicle: 04 2.5 RS Pacifica Blue	i actually did do some reading up from the other people, but never found a good thread comparing SPT and Cobb and i would just like to get some good mods so that i don't regret it later

02-21-2004, 05:17 PM	#4
dave3130 Scooby Newbie Member#: 45492 Join Date: Oct 2003 Chapter/Region: NESIC Location: MA Vehicle: 2008 Acura 3.2TL	heres a free bump from a fellow rs owner...

02-21-2004, 05:28 PM	#5
paul25RS Scooby Specialist Member#: 42209 Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Long Island, NY Vehicle: 2004 2.5RS SQC #158 Silver	intake: cobb intake exhaust: scooby sport headers: cobb equal length headers rear sway bar: cusco 22-24 adjustable Endlinks: whiteline/gtspec/perrin Suspension: tein

02-21-2004, 07:36 PM	#6
surfer.tech Scooby Specialist Member#: 39842 Join Date: Jul 2003 Vehicle: 2003 WRX wannabe	intake :cobb exhasut: your choice header:cobb for power(most gains), borla for sound, mrt for more high end power rear sway bar:cusco or whiteline strut bar:greddy, sti, cobb (doesnt matter.. even generic ones will do fine) suspension: i dont know

02-21-2004, 09:50 PM	#7
ten80 Scooby Specialist Member#: 53625 Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: WA Vehicle: 00 EJ205 LGT LTD 97 LGT Wagon	yeah, what they said and... there are lots of small things that you can do to upgrade your car that make HUGE differences: NGK copper spark plugs $10 (most agree that they have the best spark, definite improvement over stock) wrx 20mm rear sway bar (03 RS has 13mm standard, don't know about 04 but I guess it's almost the same) about $50 used grounding kit: about $30 home-made with 8ga wire and gold or copper terminals Synthetic motor oil (Mobil 1, Redline, or Purple Royal) $23-40 for 5qt Bushings: shifter, sway bar, steering rack all about $30 eash don't forget small stuff and just go for the bling bling parts!

02-22-2004, 01:50 AM	#8
Mariuslt Scooby Newbie Member#: 51670 Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Chicagoland Area Vehicle: 04 2.5 RS Pacifica Blue	thanks a lot, you guys are the best. Now last question, where would be a good install shop in IL Northern Suburbs of Chicago be? :-D Thank you and have a wonderful day

02-22-2004, 04:12 AM	#9
quest * Banned * Member#: 42402 Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: 4 inches south of :coffeemug: Vehicle: - Finder of Porn -Bringer of tears...	intake :cobb or ganzflow exhasut: Brullen or Scoobysport header:Brullen for power, Brullen for sound rear sway bar: used stock WRX (fo' cheap) suspension: prodrive? tires: anythings better'n stock Rims: Rota other: K and N air filter, perrin pulley, kartboy short shifter dressup: oem side skirts, oem front lip, shift trim (from ebay), new shift knob, WRX or STi pedals, pink grill badge

02-22-2004, 04:31 PM	#10
Supraru Scooby Specialist Member#: 23313 Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Collegeville,Pa Vehicle: 99' 2.5Rs black	intake :I have a weapon R, but a cold air intake most likely cobb. exhasut: Blitz Nur spec for a good sound but it's real loud. Apexi N1 is nice and quiet and looks stylish if you like more then a stock look. header: I have Borla but equal length will net you the best gain but won't sound as good rear sway bar: I have a 22mm FHI rear sway bar and has been verry nice. It's a great mod but just pick one they all do the same thing suspension: Cusco Zero 2's, buddy has it on his Rs and it's crazy. You won't have issues like Tein like the build quality and rusting. $1700 and you have a verry well built coilover system and it'll last a verry long time and operate just like new. tires: SO3's!!!!!! They are the best dry and wet grip tires ever. There are tires that grip a little better in the dry but not near as good in the rain. I will be buying SO3's for the rest of my life. You will have to get snow tires though and you will notice when it's cold out you can't push it as hard. So just get snow tires I recomend Blizzak WS-50's or Lm-22's Rims: anything made by Rays engenering You don't really need a shop. For something as little as an intake or the exhaust it's pretty easy to do.

02-22-2004, 05:10 PM	#12
Alpha_32 Scooby Specialist Member#: 35876 Join Date: Apr 2003 Chapter/Region: SWIC Location: Las Vegas Vehicle: 2008 Legacy GT SpecB Grey	are the gains between the borla and cobb headers significant?

02-22-2004, 07:12 PM	#13
surfer.tech Scooby Specialist Member#: 39842 Join Date: Jul 2003 Vehicle: 2003 WRX wannabe	borlas got nothin on the equal legnth cobb headers..

02-22-2004, 07:15 PM	#14
Supraru Scooby Specialist Member#: 23313 Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Collegeville,Pa Vehicle: 99' 2.5Rs black	Yes the equal lengths will give you way more hp, but you may notice a little gain from the borla's. I'm sorry but I don't have the money to spend that much money on a header. The borla makes me happy enough.

02-22-2004, 07:16 PM	#15
Alpha_32 Scooby Specialist Member#: 35876 Join Date: Apr 2003 Chapter/Region: SWIC Location: Las Vegas Vehicle: 2008 Legacy GT SpecB Grey	hehe yeah thats what i was thinkng, i was gonna go with the the borla's because im cheap..... and a ricer -_-

02-22-2004, 08:14 PM	#17
getek20 Scooby Newbie Member#: 43560 Join Date: Sep 2003 Chapter/Region: Tri-State Location: Upstate New York Vehicle: 2009 Lancer Ralliart Black	I currently have the Borla header installed on my '00 RS right now and it took 3/10 (.3) sec off my 0-60 mph time. With that said does anyone happen to know how much more time an equal length header will shave off? (Preferably the Cobb equal length header...) Any input would be appreciated.

02-22-2004, 10:59 PM	#18
Mariuslt Scooby Newbie Member#: 51670 Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Chicagoland Area Vehicle: 04 2.5 RS Pacifica Blue	quick question: each exhaust has the same gains? cause im not trying to make my RS the loudest thing on the earth, i just care about gains (but a quite exhaust is also a nice +). Thank you very much and the noob is leaving the building.

02-23-2004, 01:04 AM	#19
quest * Banned * Member#: 42402 Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: 4 inches south of :coffeemug: Vehicle: - Finder of Porn -Bringer of tears...	you won't get much in the way of gains for a cat-back, or for borla headers (5-7hp or so apiece maybe), so don't expect too much. With the Cobb or Brullen headers (mo' expensive), you will pull around 22hp and similar torque increases. If you are worried about the sound, you can get clips of the brullens here: http://www.imprezars.com/brullen.htm#brullen and clips of some of the other fellas here: Scoobysport: http://www.northursalia.com/d...coobysport.zip Stromung: http://www.northursalia.com/d...o/stromung.zip Borla+Blitz: http://www.northursalia.com/d...borlablitz.zip there are some other clips somewhere, but I can't remember where. There are sound clips for the Cobb headers in one of the recent threads in this forum.

02-23-2004, 05:22 AM	#20
Andrew Bacon Scooby Specialist Member#: 2267 Join Date: Sep 2000 Chapter/Region: SCIC Location: LA dentention core Vehicle: 00RS rutherforddesign.com	My $.02: Don't use any synthetic oil till you see at least 5000 miles, and if you DO go to it then, you HAVE to stick with it. Forever! Also at 5000 or so, change the OEM fluids in the rear diff, trans, (mt or at) and power steering. I recomend Mobil 1 GL5 gear oil for the 5 spd and rear diff, and Valvoline Dextron for the P/S. There is better, and more expensive oils/ATF. After the inital change, do it every 30K miles.

02-23-2004, 08:56 AM	#22
Mariuslt Scooby Newbie Member#: 51670 Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Chicagoland Area Vehicle: 04 2.5 RS Pacifica Blue	Wowie wow, thanks guys. One last thing that is making me wonder is that someone recommended Tein for suspension and another Cusco Zero 2's . so I’m just wondering what is the Pros and Cons on those 2 suspension mods? (and to go and be done with a suspension mod, I would want to get coilovers?) Also, if anyone can provide links where a good online store to get these parts i would highly appreciate it. (I know of : http://www.cobbtuning.com , www.subarustore.com , and www.boxer4racing .com) any of those the best or are there even better sites? Thank you once again for fast and friendly responses

02-23-2004, 09:25 AM	#23
Opie Floresbian Moderator Member#: 470 Join Date: Oct 1999 Chapter/Region: South East Location: Riverview, Florida - U.S.A. Vehicle: 2013 BRZ, 2011 Forester, '04 Chev 2500HD	Congrats on the car! My one word of advise...don't believe everything you read here, there is so much misinformation mixed in with the facts in this thread it's amusing.

02-23-2004, 11:13 AM	#24
DC/DC Scooby Newbie Member#: 55729 Join Date: Feb 2004 Chapter/Region: MAIC Location: Portsmouth, VA Vehicle: 2004 2.5RS Java Black Pearl	First thing you can do which is quick and dirty is to remove the silencer and snorkel from the stock intake. At that point, you are left with direct pipe to the air filter. Later on down the line, purchase a K&N drop-in filter. Reason to do it this way is to make it very easy to return to stock form for warranty service. Exhaust wise, I would look into using STi or WRX parts as they won't void your warranty.

02-23-2004, 04:12 PM	#25
Andrew Bacon Scooby Specialist Member#: 2267 Join Date: Sep 2000 Chapter/Region: SCIC Location: LA dentention core Vehicle: 00RS rutherforddesign.com	I think coilovers are overkill if you don't plan to seriously track or A-cross the car, and they are expensive. Some are very loud and annoying. You should be able to put on KYB AGX or STi struts with STi springs and a heavier STi rear anti-roll bar without any warrenty issues. Good tires too- these 4 things will transform the car to a handling level unatainable in stock form. IMO, as far as power mods go, like intake, header, highflow cat, bigger cat back, ProECM, Light flywheel pulley etc...each one contributes to making the car way WAY more fun to drive, but none of them really make the car much faster under OBD2. Some, not much. Again, IMO tackle the suspension first, this is where you will get cornering speed, not with an exhaust.